English in Vietnam

Abstract

This chapter discusses a number of critical issues related to English in contemporary Vietnam, where English has recently been favoured in both education and society. The chapter describes the Vietnamese historical sociolinguistic context before it critically analyses the role of English in education and society. In addition, the chapter presents a concise cross-linguistic analysis of Vietnamese and English to foreground the discussion of the linguistic features of the English spoken by Vietnamese speakers. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the future of English language education in Vietnam can navigate its way through the intricate relationship between English as a lingua franca and multilingualism in order to fulfil better its expected role in nation-building.